CLASSICAL MUSIC ERA-WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

The music of the Classical period is characterized by homophonic texture, or an obvious

melody with accompaniment. These new melodies tended to be almost voice-like and
singable, allowing composers to actually replace singers as the focus of the music.
Instrumental music therefore quickly replaced opera and other sung forms (such as
oratorio) as the favorite of the musical audience and the epitome of great composition.
However, opera did not disappear: during the classical period, several composers began
producing operas for the general public in their native languages (previous operas were generally
in Italian).

Along with the gradual displacement of the voice in favor of stronger, clearer melodies,
counterpoint also typically became a decorative flourish, often used near the end of a work or for
a single movement. In its stead, simple patterns, such as arpeggios and, in piano music, Alberti
bass (an accompaniment with a repeated pattern typically in the left hand), were used to liven the
movement of the piece without creating a confusing additional voice. The now-popular
instrumental music was dominated by several well-defined forms: the sonata, the symphony, and
the concerto, though none of these were specifically defined or taught at the time as they are now
in music theory. All three derive from sonata form, which is both the overlying form of an entire
work and the structure of a single movement. Sonata form matured during the Classical era to
become the primary form of instrumental compositions throughout the 19th century.

The early Classical period was ushered in by the Mannheim School, which included such
composers as Johann Stamitz, Franz Xaver Richter, Carl Stamitz, and Christian Cannabich. It
exerted a profound influence on Joseph Haydn and, through him, on all subsequent European
music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the central figure of the Classical period, and his
phenomenal and varied output in all genres defines our perception of the period. Ludwig van
Beethoven and Franz Schubert were transitional composers, leading into the Romantic period,
with their expansion of existing genres, forms, and even functions of music.

BARAQUE MUSIC-JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Instrumental music became dominant in the Baroque, and most major music forms were defined.
Counterpoint was one of the major forces in both the instrumental and the vocal music of the
period. Although a strong religious musical tradition continued, secular music came to the fore
with the development of the sonata, the concerto, and the concerto grosso.

Much Baroque music was designed for improvisation, with a figured bass provided by the
composer for the performer to flesh out and ornament. The keyboard, particularly the
harpsichord, was a dominant instrument, and the beginnings of well temperament opened up the
possibilities of playing in all keys and of modulation.

Much Baroque music featured a basso continuo consisting of a keyboard, either harpsichord or
organ (sometimes a lute instead), and a bass instrument, such as a viola da gamba or bassoon.
The three outstanding composers of the period were Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric
Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi, but a host of other composers, some with huge output, were active in
the period

MIDDLE PERIOD-LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Beethoven's return to Vienna from Heiligenstadt was marked by a change in musical style, and is
now designated as the start of his middle or "heroic" period. According to Carl Czerny, Beethoven
said, "I am not satisfied with the work I have done so far. From now on I intend to take a new
way."[61] This "heroic" phase was characterised by a large number of original works composed on
a grand scale.[62] The first major work employing this new style was the Third Symphony in E flat,
known as the Eroica. This work was longer and larger in scope than any previous symphony.
When it premiered in early 1805 it received a mixed reception. Some listeners objected to its
length or misunderstood its structure, while others viewed it as a masterpiece.
The "middle period" is sometimes associated with a "heroic" manner of composing,[64]
but the use of the term "heroic" has become increasingly controversial in Beethoven
scholarship. The term is more frequently used as an alternative name for the middle
period.